October Tenth
by Kasek
Summary: Naruto normally spends this day alone in his apartment... but someone is coming to attempt to change that. NaruHina, I suppose. Oneshot.


**Kasek:** A NaruHina oneshot to celebrate Naruto's birthday! w00t! Takes place in part two of the manga.

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.**

Naruto could see some balloons flying through the air far from his apartment. Today was _that_ day- the day the Kyuubi had been sealed into his stomach. It was simultaneously a day of festivities and of mourning- many celebrated that the village had survived, and would never face such a day again; others spent their days in the graveyard or at the Hero's Memorial, mourning the loss of their loved ones. And still yet others... Naruto kept an eye on the drunk hidden in the alley down the street. He hadn't moved in a while, but his mere presence worried Naruto. He was so distracted by it that he almost didn't hear the knock on his door. Almost.

He pulled a kunai from the pouch on his waist as he approached the door. One could never be too careful. He looked through the peephole in his door, and was surprised to see that it was Hinata on the other side of the door. He quickly replaced the kunai and opened the door cautiously, and peeked his head out. "Hinata? What are you doing here?"

He took a good look at her- she was dressed in an elegant black festival kimono that had many orange flowers towards the bottom and on the sleeves. Being of the younger generation, he supposed that she didn't have anyone to mourn today. Her hair was done up, and the ends of her hair stuck up over her head in small spikes. Naruto had to admit, it made her look... pretty. Though, in his mind, no one could ever shadow Sakura. She seemed nervous- _very _nervous. Her arms were crossed behind her back, and she had been looking at the ground before he had opened the door. It took her a moment to gather up the courage to speak. "W-well... as you know, there's a festival today, and, I, um, well... I was hoping that..."

The last part was muttered too quietly for Naruto to hear. He opened the door wider and leaned his face closer to hers. "Could you repeat that? You're too quiet..."

Hinata blushed at the closeness between the two of them. "I, um, well... I was hoping that... you would go to the festival with me..."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. Who's idea of a sick joke was this? Of all of the days for a girl to invite him to a festival... a _pretty_ girl at that. He looked down the hallway, both left and right- there was no one there. It didn't _appear_ anyone was forcing her to do this, but still... he sighed and closed his eyes for a second, before opening them again and looking her in the eyes, which caused her blush to deepen. "I'm sorry, Hinata, but... I don't celebrate today."

Hinata's eyes closed as she seemed to flinch, as if the words had attempted to punch her. She opened them again, but this time she was looking at the floor. She lifted her left leg up a bit, causing it to swing limply. "O-oh... I forgot that you're one of the mourners... I'm sorry..."

Naruto's eye widened. "One of... the mourners?"

Hinata nodded. "Because... your parents died today, didn't they?"

Naruto's breath caught in his throat- he had never really thought of it that way. The mere mention of his parents brought all sorts of unpleasant memories to the forefront. But still... Naruto shook his head. "No, no, you have it all wrong... that's not why I don't celebrate today... after all, how can you mourn the loss of something you've never had... right?" Hinata noticed a small tear form in Naruto's left eye, but Naruto wasn't aware of it. "Look, why don't you get Kiba to take you or something? I'm sure he'd be more than happy to..."

He began to close the door, but in a sudden burst of courage Hinata grabbed the door with her right hand. Naruto looked at her, obviously surprised. "Hinata?"

She brought her left hand from behind her back, and Naruto was surprised to see a box with a ribbon on top in her hand. It looked like... "I know you said you don't celebrate today, but... well, it's tradition to get someone a present for their birthday... right?"

Naruto felt like he could only stare at the box. Not even Sakura had ever gotten him a gift for his birthday... though, he doubted she even knew when it was- which made him all the more surprised that Hinata knew. He opened the door all of the way, and slowly reached a hand towards it. He grabbed it, and removed it from her hands. He put his left hand under the box, and his right hand reached for the ribbon. He looked at her, hoping for assent to open it. Hinata gave a forced smile. "G-go ahead..."

Naruto undid the ribbon, and removed it from the box. He then took off the lid, and was surprised at what was inside- it was an orange men's kimono, with black flowers along the sleeves. He had no doubt that there were black flowers along the bottom- it was obviously made to match Hinata's kimono. Hinata's smile forcibly remained on her face. "I... I was hoping you would wear it today but... there are always other festivals, I suppose..."

Naruto noted that she looked like she was about to cry. He nodded, and smiled. "I'll make sure I wear it to the next one... see you then, Hinata."

Hinata's eyes widened. _Did... he...?_ Hinata could only stand there in shock as Naruto slowly closed his door. She slowly smiled to herself. _He... did..._ She walked away, feeling pride in herself for the first time in a long time.

Naruto resumed looking out his window- yep, the drunk was still there. He watched as Hinata walked towards the alley, and his eyes narrowed as the drunk stirred. _He wouldn't..._ The drunk quickly began walking towards Hinata, though, again, he was drunk, and having a hard time of it. Naruto swore as he jumped out the window and to the ground below. _Hinata...!_

Hinata was surprised when the drunken man had stopped her. "Hey, there, girlie... you were just at _that_ brat's house, weren't ya?" He hiccuped as he slowly advanced towards her.

Hinata took a step back. "I... I don't know what you're talking about..."

Th man lashed out, and grabbed her arm. "Oh, I think you know..." He hiccuped again. "There's only one brat around here who's birthday is today... I don't see why anyone would bother with that little demon..."

Hinata flinched from the man's alcohol-ridden breath. "P-please, let go of me, b-before I'm forced to take action..."

The man gave a drunken sneer. "Please, I may not look like it, but I'm a Jonin! You can't do anything to..."

He flinched when Naruto appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm. He shook in fear when he looked into Naruto's eyes- they were red, with slits. He was so scared that he didn't even notice Naruto's claws digging into his skin. Naruto snarled, and the man could see his pointed teeth. "Leave. Her. _Alone._"

The man, though scared, tried to give a brave front. "Ha! I knew it! You are the demon's wench! And since he attacked me first, I could say it was all self-defense...!"

Naruto gripped the man's arm harder, causing him to let go of Hinata. He then let go of the man, and punched him hard in the stomach. The man backed off for a sec, and then threw u on the ground. Naruto grabbed his fist with his other hand. "If you ever say anything like that about Hinata again... I'll make sure to do far worse than just _punch_ you. Got it?"

The man, fearing for his life now, started running away. Naruto could feel the Kyuubi's chakra ebb away, and his body returned to its normal state. He turned to Hinata, and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah... sorry about that, Hinata. Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Hinata shook her head. "N-no, I'm alright. Thank you, Naruto... ...If you don't mind me asking... what was that all about...?"

Naruto flinched. He should've known that she'd ask... "It's... complicated. I suppose you'll find out someday anyways...

Hinata shook her head. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to... look, I... I'll be going now."

As she walked past Naruto to leave, Naruto gently grabbed her arm. She turned to him, her eyes wide. "N-Naruto...?"

Naruto smiled. "You know, we never did see if that kimono fit... I should go do that. And, well... I guess it's only right that you be the first to see it... want to come?"

A smile grew on Hinata's face. "I... I'd like that..."

**Kasek: **Tell me what you think. I think this is one of- scratch that, my _best_ work, but that's me. A writing style I didn't know I had within me just came out when I started working on this, so I'm happy. I hope it sticks around long enough for me to use in my other stories

I was thinking of lengthening it and making Naruto go to the festival after all, but... well, Naruto doesn't go back on his word, now, does he?


End file.
